Winds of changeby Spiders Are BaeChaptersStartling newsThe reformedTo change a changeling queenChange of heartStartling newsNecifera was chatting with some ponies in the main hall one early morning, when she felt something….unusual. It was as if a shockwave passed through her body, and she could have sworn she heard a distant explosion. “Is something wrong, my queen?” A pony she was talking to asked, confused at her sudden stiffness and change in expression. Necifera snapped out of the trance and blinked. “I’m...I’m fine, thank you for asking, dear. I need some time to think right now. I’ll be in my chambers if you need me.” The pony nodded and with that, Necifera made her way up the spire, towards the throne room. The queen wasn’t sure what she felt, and she had a bad feeling about it. The rest of the day was spent trying to figure out what might have happened, contacting her scouts and questioning if they felt the same. When some revealed they felt something similar, Necifera noticed only those who claimed to be from Chrysalis’s hive answered. She asked her scouts to check on her mother’s hive and see if anything happened. Necifera mostly kept to herself for a few days after the event, waiting for answers, and the feeling subsided slightly, but when unexpected and startling news came via the link from her scouts about her mother’s hive, she immediately understood what she felt. They told her that Queen Chrysalis was defeated, dethroned, which baffled her and made her doubt what she just heard. Her scouts further confirmed what happened by telling her the hive was shattered, it’s top half was gone, and her mother’s throne was nowhere to be found. That explosion she heard must have been related to it. As for the weird feeling she felt, it must have been a side effect she felt after her mother’s throne shattered or disappeared, it’s nullifying magic dissipating as a result. When she asked how something like this could ever happen, her scouts told the queen that they saw a new race of changelings, or what they assumed were changelings, around the destroyed hive. They had a variety of colors and lacked any holes in their body, and that perhaps it was their doing. Things got even more bizarre when her scouts noted that they couldn't take on such a form, as much as they tried, which puzzled Necifera even further. Sudendly, Nymph comes rushing into the throne room, interrupting her scouts’s reports. "My queen, have you heard? Mother and her hive…" Nymph said while panting lightly. "Yes, Nymph, my scouts told me what they saw, but I still don't know where these new changelings came from or how they accomplished such a task." "It seems everypony is talking about it, even our pony allies seemed to have gotten word of what happened,” Nymph began.“They say a traitor to Chrysalis, named Thorax, was the culprit, who worked together with ponies in order to bring Chrysalis down,” she paused briefly to catch her breath, before continuing. “Apparently, by sharing love with others instead of taking it, he and many other changelings evolved or reformed. I’m not exactly sure what happened either. The results are these colorful bugs now occupying our mother’s old hive, and it seems that with her throne gone, flora around the Badlands began growing again." "That is quite intriguing, I have never seen or heard of such things," Necifera pondered. “Are you sure those are changelings now inhabiting the hive? And what about Chrysalis? If she wasn’t with them, then surely they saw where she last went.” “I’m still not sure what they are. As for mother, they say she fled after being offered to join them and share her love. I’m not too surprised she refused, it wouldn't be like her to join those who beat her.” As she took it all in, it puzzled and fascinated Necifera at the same time, and she tried to make sense of it all. She made her way to one of the many windows of the throne room and looked in the direction of the Badlands. her scouts confirmed they received the orders, but before they could leave to do their task, the queen gave one more order. Necifera sighed deeply. She was glad Chrysalis was pushed away from where her hive was, but she was also worried about her mother. Did Chrysalis deserve this? She almost lost everything in just one day... *** Necifera waited for any kind of news for days after she learned what happened, her stress being at the highest it has ever been. When reports finally came confirming that Chrysalis had set up a second hive in Ghastly Gorge, surprisingly close to major pony territory, Necifera was relieved that her mother was doing ok, but was just as worried that she was still a threat and already had another hive ready. Still, in spite of that, Necifera turned her focus to her own hive, now considerably more calm, and began planning how to best contact the so called reformed changelings and their new king, Thorax, who now occupied her mother’s old hive. During the next two days, she gathered opinions from her subjects and asked them about the ordeal, getting mixed responses in return. Some of her subjects didn’t seem to mind or actively expressed their excitement to meet these new changelings, while others weren’t as excited or happy about it. As far as they knew, these new changelings weren’t a new unknown race, but instead were merely normal changelings that received a new form by sharing love with others. Necifera was positive that they would find solutions. Maybe getting a chitin rework wouldn't be so bad, and perhaps they could still change to their old form despite reforming. With those observations, most of her subjects’s opinions changed, mostly towards the positive. Pleased with the shift in agreement, Necifera decided she would take one changeling of each race in her hive, as well as one pony chosen by their allies to accompany her. This would allow her to show the reformed how much diversity and teamwork existed among the different races in her hive. Reassuring those uncertain with the plan that everything was going to be fine, the queen made her way to what once was her mother's hive, her chosen group of 5 in tow. The reformedAfter walking for some time, passing by different trees, lotuses and other flowers, and even a grove with a waterfall of sorts, relatively close to their hive, Necifera and her group reached the end of the swamps and arrived at the edge of the Badlands. It was noticeably greener, plants were growing in the area, and in the distance, the hive’s silhouette could be seen, also with flora growing on and around the now smaller structure. Necifera sighed upon spotting it, remembering the last time she was in it, but was slightly more relieved to know her mother was nowhere near them now. As they approached it, she noticed just how open it was, given the top half no longer being there. Seeing what she assumed were the reformed changelings from afar reminded her of her own hive, strangely enough. She smiled at the thought. Once her group was within sight of these changelings, Necifera noticed there seemed to be no guards whatsoever, which surprised her considering what happened a few days ago back in this same location. She announced her presence once her group began catching the eye of the reformed closer to them. Speaking loudly, but not in an aggressive tone, she explained why she came here to all that could hear her. As with the ponies the first time they saw her, some seemed scared and backed away from her, some hid, and others stood their ground, albeit in a more aggressive way, understandable given Necifera’s appearance. After hearing what the queen had to say however, and seeing how her group was not posing an immediate threat, the reformed seemed to calm down and the atmosphere became less tense. Necifera waited outside, waiting for any confirmation to enter as she watched many reformed enter the hive themselves. Moments later, a different, bigger reformed changeling approached, along with another, with much darker colors. The queen assumed the bigger one was Thorax, and bowed out of respect, before greeting him. As she did this however, the reformed changeling accompanying Thorax hissed loudly at her, which made her instinctively back up. “Pharynx! That is no way to treat newcomers. I’m sorry for my brother’s behavior,” Thorax said, apologetic. “Look at her Thorax! She looks just like Chrysalis! And she brought more of these unreformed. How can we trust her?” Pharynx hissed back while keeping his aggressive stance. “They also have a pony who doesn’t seem scared at all. Give them a chance to explain themselves, will you?” Pharynx hissed disapprovingly but backed off slightly. Necifera gave a nervous chuckle before speaking. “There is no need to chastise him. His reaction is understandable given my appearance and my group. I can assure you however that we mean no harm. I had a rough start in my early days when I started my hive, but each of my subjects behind me are representing their respective species in it currently,” Necifera said calmly while gesturing to her group.“We are thriving together, and we put aside our differences to help each other.” “I can confirm that as the only non-changeling here,” The pony accompanying the queen said while moving forward and placing their left fore hoof on their chest. ”She was honest with us when she first revealed herself, and she admitted that her hive was feeding off of our village, but none of us were harmed. She didn’t show aggression and said she merely wished to live in harmony with us. She kept her word and that is how our alliance came to be.” “How do we know you're not being controlled by her?” Pharynx snapped back. Thorax sighed. ”Pharynx, brother, Chrysalis is gone now, you can relax. They seem to be telling the truth.” “I will protect the hive against any threat, and this unreformed self proclaimed queen who appeared out of nowhere is a threat to me!” “I think it’s best if I say it now. I am also Chrysalis’s daughter, just like you and many others here,” Necifera revealed, receiving a loud hiss from Pharynx in response. She ignored him and continued. “I was born an alpha and taught how to rule as a queen, but I fled the hive, this same hive, when it was hers. I didn’t want to risk becoming like her and I felt I had no other choice.” “I knew we shouldn't trust you!” Pharynx shouted, his reaction causing even more reformed to gather in a circle that slowly formed around the talking changelings. “Maybe we should all calm down a little. Pharynx, I know it’s hard to get used to new habits, but we need to be more trusting and open now. And she isn’t wrong, Chrysalis was our mother as well...” Thorax reminded his brother. Then, addressing Necifera, he continued. ”You said you had a hive, right? I would love to hear about it and your experiences, as well as your story.” *** Inside the hive, Necifera told her story and described her experiences after she fled. As she did, more and more reformed seemed to lose their fear of her and her group, understanding and acknowledging the struggle she went through in making her choices and building her hive. Thorax, after hearing the queen’s story, agreed to the idea of becoming allies after she suggested it, aided by what the pony accompanying Necifera said, much to the annoyance of Pharynx. Pleased with Thorax's decision, but curious to know more, Necifera asked his opinion on Chrysalis, and told him her own plan to convince their mother to change. Thorax admitted he didn't believe Chrysalis could be redeemed, reminding Necifera what happened when they offered her such a choice upon reforming. The queen became slightly discouraged by hearing this at first, wondering if her plan would ever work, but she quickly brightened up, telling Thorax that they didn't need to make Chrysalis reform, they just needed to convince her to stop being a threat to ponies and hurting them. Thorax liked the idea and reassured Necifera that the reformed changelings would help Necifera in her quest. It was a surprise to him after all, seeing an unreformed changeling, and a queen no less, not to mention all the different races accompanying her. To see such different species working together and helping each other in one hive was impressive to him. Both the reformed changelings and the ones the queen brought seemed to take great interest in each other as well, and were interacting with one another throughout their stay in Thorax’s hive. Seeing such friendship quickly spreading was enough to persuade Thorax to help in this nigh impossible quest to redeem Chrysalis. “See, Pharynx. Trusting others isn't so bad,” said Thorax with a witty voice, leaning in with his surprisingly long neck towards his brother. “Bah, you will see, she will betray us the moment she finds an opportunity!” Snapped Pharynx, although his voice seemed to carry hollow words, as if he didn’t really mean what he said. “You will see, Pharynx, be patient.” “Whatever,” Pharynx huffed and moved away from them. Necifera grinned slightly. “Very hard to convince, I see.” “Yeah, but don’t mind him, he just wants to make sure the hive is safe,” replied Thorax, embarrassed. “I admire his temper, and I respect his loyalty to the hive.” “With time he will learn and adapt,” Thorax said with a smile. Necifera nodded in agreement. “I have some questions about the reformed changelings. How does the process work and how different are you from us unreformed? I have never seen or heard about such a transformation before.” “Well, I wasn't aware it existed either. I just shared love instead of taking it for the first time and it happened. As for noticeable changes, well, physically we are very different from one another now. And I no longer feel that hunger, it’s as if I am constantly being emotionally fed by others around me, and I'm sharing my emotions passively as well. Are you planning to reform as well? It’s not a necessity, but would make non-changelings more friendly towards you.” “I’m not sure. I don’t know if all my subjects would like the change, but it’s their choice. Just like with your reformed changelings, any of my subjects that wish to reform will be welcome in the hive. And if I am to reform, I will do so in my hive. I want to show my subjects that it’s their choice whether or not they want to change.” “I must admit I am curious to know how the different changeling races in your hive would look like reformed. Still, as long as none of you are causing trouble, we will get along just fine, reformed or not.” “I have another question. Can a reformed changeling use their old form?” “Oh yes, absolutely,” in a pillar of light green, Thorax emerged in his unreformed, smaller form, although his wings appeared to be sparkly and seemed to glow. “It’s as easy as any other basic transformation, maybe even easier.” “Good, that will make many in the hive happy. I really hope we can remain allies, or better yet, brothers and sisters, regardless of appearance.” Thorax returned to his reformed form in another pillar of light. “I hope so too, and together we can show Equestria that all changelings aren’t the scary and heartless monsters many believe they are.” “That is my goal, or should I say, our goal?” Necifera smirked. “I’m positive things will get better from now on. I shall return to my hive to process this new information. Maybe next time we meet I'll have a brand new look.” “It seems you are already starting, look at your wings!” Thorax pointed towards Necifera with a fore hoof, excited. Slightly alarmed, Necifera quickly brought one of her wings into view, and noticed how it seemed to glow and looked sparkly just like his wings did. “What does this mean?” “Don’t be scared, it’s a sign you're halfway there. Your good actions are beginning to affect you physically. The same happened to me before I reformed,” that made Necifera smile. They watched the reformed and unreformed changelings interacting with one another and enjoying each other’s company for a while before Necifera and her group departed close to dusk. They bid farewell to the reformed and made their way back to their hive. As Thorax watched the queen’s group leave, Pharynx approached him. “Guess they aren’t as bad as I thought…” He grumbled. Thorax smiled and giggled. ”See? I knew you would grow to like them.” Pharynx hissed back. “Don’t mention it.” *** As Necifera made her way through the swamps with her group, who were still talking among each other and expressing how much fun they had interacting with the reformed, she pondered on what Thorax said. Would she be ready and willing to change? She looked at her glowing wings and smiled. If Thorax is right, then maybe it would benefit her hive if she did. But what would her mother think of her if she saw her in the same form of a traitor? The meeting with the changeling king unveiled more than what she expected and she definitely needed some time to process it all. The queen focused on getting back to her hive safely and telling the news to her subjects for now. Once Necifera reached her hive, exhausted, those in her group disbanded and embraced their brothers and sisters without a second to waste, and her subjects were happy to see all in her group were safe. Necifera, too tired to speak, sent all the news via the hive link. Everything from the alliance that was successfully formed, to everything the queen learned about the reformed was sent to every subject in her hive. They were all relieved to hear the good news, and with this new information known to all, the queen assured her subjects that any changeling willing to reform can do so without fear. They would still be welcome in the hive no matter their appearance, and she would not force any to change, nor would she tolerate any kind of violence among the reformed and unreformed. After she finished giving her telepathic announcement, Necifera made her way to her chambers, and promptly collapsed on her bed, exhausted. She quickly drifted off to sleep. To change a changeling queenThe next day, Necifera woke up to quite some commotion in the link, as well as some new, yet familiar sensations. She made her way to the main hall to investigate, and was met with reformed changelings. But these were not from Thorax’s hive, they were all part of her hive as confirmed by their familiar presence in the link. She was surprised at how fast many made the change, but was glad all her changelings seemed to welcome the new old faces. Many of the different races reformed, and seemed to gain a number of features, from fur covering their body, to different chitin and scale colors. She spent the day interacting with her subjects as usual, but took the opportunity to learn more about the reformed, asking questions like what the process felt like. Her reformed subjects explained that their transformation process was fast and pleasant and that they didn’t feel too different, other than their new physical appearance. They also noted they didn't feel hungry at all, and felt themselves sharing emotions with those around them. Necifera could feel these emotions too, passively coming from her reformed subjects. An interesting effect, she noted. This would further help eliminate any problems with hunger they may have. Necifera spent the day in the hive, and, after chatting with her subjects about Thorax and his reformed, as well as a number of other topics, night time quickly arrived. The queen felt like she was ready to change, after all the input she received, she deemed it would only benefit her hive. As if on queue, her wings began glowing brightly. She gathered some of her pony subjects in the main hall and, for the first time ever, shared her love and sustenance, and what was to an extent her life force, with her pony allies. Almost instantly, she felt the change. She was enveloped by a purple cocoon of light as she closed her eyes, and moments later emerged with a brand new appearance. In this new colorful form, any holes changelings typically had on their body disappeared, and Necifera now had a light tan color replacing the dark that covered most of her body. Her mane and tail also changed drastically, the red color covering them changed to better fit the lotus flowers her hive was based off, now starting with an orchid purple from the base of each and branching into light pink near the end. Her eyes kept their red glow but became softer and lighter. Her wings, now noticeably split into 4, also followed a similar change, starting with pale purple from the base and branching into a pale transparent pink. They were also rounder and less jagged in design. Her carapace kept a dark color, now a dark violet, with her midsection having a transparent bright lavender membrane. Another very noticeable change was a concentration of fluffy fur on the queen’s chest, where her necklace used to be, now buried under its bright brown fur. It was quite comfortable and warm to the touch. As Necifera opened her eyes, she inspected her new form with great interest, touching the comfortable fur on her chest with a fore hoof and looking at her wings. It took her some time to get used to the different effects it carried. She felt even stronger than before and well-sated, although strangely enough, she still craved some specific emotions, like compassion and kindness. She ignored that thought and focused on her new form’s other features. Once she was satisfied and comfortable with it, she tried returning to her old form, and with some attempts, she was able to swap between them with ease, but noticed she kept both her holes and her sparkly wings in her unreformed form. After playing around with her forms for a while, Necifera noticed how most of her subjects were stunned by the way she looked now. She smiled back at them and assured them all that things would only get better from here. Still slightly conflicted with the new sensations she was feeling, the queen excused herself and made her way up the spire, passing by one of her subjects that was frozen in amazement with their jaw agape. She giggled and closed it with a fore hoof, giving them a gentle kiss on the cheek. Practically stone, her subject blushed profusely while Necifera continued to grin and retired to her chambers for the day. Laying down in her bed, the queen quickly drifted off into the world of dreams as is usual every night. However, something strange occurred this particular night. Change of heartNecifera woke up the next morning after having a weird dream, the first she’d ever had. She couldn’t remember much, but she definitely remembered seeing what appeared to be a pony with dark blue fur, a horn and a pair of wings, and a mane, flowing unnaturally, made up of countless stars in a blue soothing sky, watching her. It, no, she, seemed to be focused on Necifera specifically in her dream, but how could that be possible? Necifera knew this mare wasn’t just part of her dream, or was she... Although it puzzled her greatly, Necifera decided to ignore that strange dream and focus on it later, focusing instead on her plan she was setting in motion soon. To confront her mother once and for all. It didn’t take long for Necifera to locate the exact area where her mother’s new hive was. After her changelings infiltrated and gathered information on it, she began planning how to approach this situation. She couldn’t afford to fail, she only had one chance. Since some of her changelings were already among Chrysalis’s subjects, it would make things easier. She organized a group and with it, they were going to infiltrate and join up with her other subjects already disguised in the hive. She picked spiderlings and nagas as well as strong drones to accompany her in this dangerous mission. “My queen, sister, can I come with you? I can help if things go wrong,” Nymph asked as Necifera prepared to depart. “Nymph, I understand what you want, you are strong, and that is why I need you to stay here. I trust you will do great as a leader in case I don't return.” Necifera bent down to look Nymph in the eyes. “Be strong, for me and for the hive, my alpha.” “Please be safe,” pleaded Nymph. “I will. Make sure the spirits in the hive are high for when we return,” Necifera replied with a smile. “We’ll be back in no time.” After saying their farewells to their fellow changelings, Necifera's group made their way to Chrysalis's hive. *** When they arrived, they all quickly disguised themselves as simple drones. Necifera noticed however, that she still had her sparkly wings, despite not being in her own unreformed body. This would make things slightly complicated. The queen tried her best to hide her wings as her group reached the hive. They blended in with the rest of the changelings easily, entering the hive along another group, luckily without the guards noticing them. This wasn’t her mother’s old hive, but Necifera’s group quickly met up with her own spies with the help of their link, who went unnoticed by the other changelings. They all met up in a dark corner, devoid of activity, and her spies gave her all the information needed about the hive’s layout. With their new knowledge of the hive, the queen’s group easily found their way to the throne room, quickly hypnotizing and wiping the memories of any suspicious changelings they came across in the tunnels. The throne guards, very suspicious at a big group approaching without Chrysalis notifying them, readied themselves to confront these intruders. “What is the purpose of this? The queen did not request any meetings of any kind at this time,” one of the throne guards hissed. Necifera approached the guard and locked eyes with them, her crimson gaze trapping them in her hypnotic power. “Relax. Our queen called for us at the last moment. You must be feeling really tired after standing here all day. You can rest for a while now,” And with soft and soothing words, the guard was fast asleep on the ground. With quick thinking following their queen’s action, the changelings in her group immobilized the other guard and allowed her to do the same to them as well. Once both guards were out of the way, Necifera prepared herself, and sighed loudly, before throwing open the doors to the throne room with her magic. Queen Chrysalis was sitting on her throne, a bored expression on her face, while she held her head with one of her fore hooves. Seeing the doors opening violently surprised her and made her flinch slightly. “What is the meaning of this interruption?” She shouted, annoyance in her voice. “It’s been quite some time hasn’t it, mother?” Necifera asked, her lack of emotion present in her question, while she fixed her gaze on Chrysalis. Chrysalis cocked her head to the side, visibly confused. “Do I know you?” Then she locked eyes with the small drone, and as she saw that familiar red glow, her eyes widened at the realisation. “You!” She snarled as she rose to her full height. “Traitor! How dare you come here after your betrayal?” Chrysalis’s fangs were fully visible as she snapped back. Hearing the commotion, some of Chrysalis’s drones gathered at the entrance to the throne room surprisingly fast. “Don’t just stand there, get them!” Chrysalis shouted. The gathered drones almost stumbled over each other as they rushed towards the queen’s group, but Necifera’s subjects, shedding their disguises, stopped each of them with ease, keeping them immobilized and harmless. Necifera didn’t flinch at all during this, and merely kept her eyes fixed on Chrysalis. “Traitor…” Necifera repeated slowly. “You like saying that a lot. Are you sure you know what that word means, mother?” “What are you talking about? An-And how are you commanding so many changelings of other races?” Chrysalis hissed back, caught off guard, but then she noticed the sparkling wings on Necifera’s disguise. “Wait, those wings…” Chrysalis narrowed her eyes as her horn lit up, and in a blink of an eye, a green beam of magic struck Necifera. It didn’t hurt however, instead, Necifera’s disguise was shed by her mother’s magic, revealing her true, reformed self. “Ah! Look at you! You fled the hive, you abandoned your siblings and now you join the other trait-” “You imply I betrayed our race?” Necifera sharply interrupted. “Look around me, see how many changeling races are working together under my rule. Does it surprise you? Have you never led any from the other hives before? I didn’t betray our race, I'm trying to unify them and make a better future for us. How they look doesn’t matter! We are all changelings in the end, trying to survive. I betrayed you, because you don’t know how to treat your own children!” “How dare you say that! I teach them to fight for and serve the hive! I taught you how to rule!” Chrysalis proclaimed, pointing at Necifera with a hoof. “Defective drones flee because they are weak!” “There are no defective drones. Some are weaker than others, yes, but the reason they flee and betray you as you like to say is not because of that. They flee because they're scared of you. Have you ever asked one of your subjects if they're happy with how you treat them?” “What kind of question is that? Of course they are happy, otherwise they would tell me...” Chrysalis said, her voice trailing off. “You don’t sound so confident with that statement,” Necifera pointed out, hoping her vocal battle with her mother could get her point across. “They fear you, why would they admit to something they know you will hate hearing?” “You're lying, I won't lose my hive again!” Chrysalis stomped the ground with her hooves, causing it to crack, and launched a magic projectile from her horn, aiming for the closest of Necifera’s subjects. “Enough!” Necifera shouted and leapt in front of her subject, creating a reflective shield that sent the projectile back to where it came from, making Chrysalis freeze and go wide eyed before it hit her dead center. Once Necifera recovered from the knockback and the smoke settled, she saw Chrysalis laying against her cracked throne, panting heavily and having a few new scratches on her body. “That power….how did you…” Chrysalis asked slowly and with some difficulty. “Is that all you care about? Power?” Necifera coldly asked as she approached her mother. “This power was given to me by my subjects, out of love, trust, and friendship. You don’t have those things, that is why you are weak now. I don’t want to take over your hive, I have my own. Why can’t you just listen to what others have to say?” Necifera stomped the ground with one hoof close to Chrysalis as she finished asking her question. Chrysalis went silent for a while. “Fear…” She whispered. ”Is that why my children flee? Is that why they turn agaisn’t me?” She looked up at Necifera. “...Is that why you fled?” Necifera’s anger faded slightly. “I fled because of fear, but a different one. I saw what was happening in the hive as I grew, and I didn't want to risk becoming cold like you.” Necifera bent down to better speak with Chrysalis. “Mother...i survived out there and i got to where i am now thanks to you.” “W-What do you mean?” Chrysalis asked, stuttering. “Your lessons allowed me to push through obstacles. They taught me how to be the queen I am now. I will be eternally grateful for that. Please mother, I don't want to hurt you anymore, I don't want to lose you...” Necifera changed into her unreformed form. “...Let us be a family again, ALL of us, regardless of what we look like. You don’t have to change, none of your subjects need to, and you don’t need to forgive those who wronged you, but let us stop the fighting, please.” Necifera pleaded, tears beginning to stream down her face. After a few more seconds of silence that felt like hours, Necifera’s tears being the only sound that broke the silence hitting the ground, Chrysalis smiled and finally spoke, while shakily getting back up. Necifera did the same. “My daughter, I was wrong about you, you weren’t a disappointment after all.” Chrysalis tenderly ran her hoof down Necifera’s cheek, and locked her green eyes with her daughter’s red. “I’m proud of you, at how far you got and what you accomplished, I hope you know that, my daughter,” she dried the tears streaming down Necifera’s face with the same hoof, and sighed. “We will try to avoid fighting with the reformed from now on, but they aren’t welcome in my hive...” “Mother-” Necifera started. “...Until I have some choice words with Thorax first,” Chrysalis elaborated, smiling. Necifera sighed and whispered. “Small steps…” Then, both queens looked at their subjects, Chrysalis’s drones still being restrained by Necifera’s. They looked back at one another, grinned and embraced each other, a hug that lasted for a long time. They would have a lot to do these next few days. “That love you’re sharing is very irresistible, you know that?” Chrysalis noted while hugging her daughter. “There is more for all of us once everything is settled,” stated Necifera, not wanting to leave her mother’s embrace. *** Necifera sent the good news to both her hive via the link and Thorax through her scouts, and they all agreed to meet up in the king’s hive. Chrysalis promised she wouldn’t cause any trouble, and that she also wanted to see how her old hive looked like after all this time. Surprisingly enough, despite a rough greeting, Chrysalis and Thorax didn’t immediately try to kill each other once they met after so long. Maybe it was because Necifera was keeping a watchful eye, or maybe her words were more effective than she expected, but she wasn’t too sure herself. She was just glad to see some bonds begin to form, even if small. “I must say, I never expected to meet on...friendlier terms after our last encounter,” admitted Thorax, still slightly nervous with Chrysalis so close. “Don’t get your hopes up, you stole my hive, I haven't forgotten that,” Chrysalis said before getting closer to Thorax and giving a creepy, toothy smile. “Perhaps you’ll pay for that in time.” This made Thorax audibly gulp. Chrysalis chuckled and backed off to give him some space. “I heard that, don’t do something you will regret!” Hissed Pharynx as he quickly approached the group. “Ah, Pharynx, I still recognize that short temper in your voice even after all this time,” Chrysalis complemented, shrugging off his warning. “Even after getting a new form that doesn’t really fit your personality, you still prove to be quite fierce. I'm proud of you.” “Don’t try to persuade me with your words,” Pharynx hissed back. “I’m just complimenting you,” Chrysalis smiled, as if mocking Pharynx. “As much as I hate to admit it, your brother is doing a good job running my old hive.” “Really? I..Uh.. I mean, thank you, mother,” Thorax replied, flustered. As Necifera watched them interact with each other, she noticed a changeling with what appeared to be a bite mark on their hind hoof approach Thorax. “Rogue…” She whispered to herself. “Hey Thorax,” the changeling said hesitantly. “I don’t know if you remember me, it’s been awhile since we met up in the mountains of the Crystal Empire. I wish i could have spent more time with you, as at the time you were the closest thing to family to me,” they explain. “Rogue? Is that really you? After all this time, i never would have imagined we would meet again. Where did you run off to?” “I was afraid, with Chrysalis after me i couldn’t let her find you,” Rogue looked towards Chrysalis and hissed at her, causing her to back up slightly, but the old queen still kept a fanged smile on her face as she watched both of them. “And i didn’t want to risk losing someone who treated me so nicely. You look amazing by the way, what happened to us while we were apart?” Rogue asked. “Don’t worry Rogue, i appreciate you wanting to protect me, but we can relax now, the time for fighting is over. With time we can get used to her presence,” he said while looking towards Chrysalis. ”We will be able to enjoy many moments together from now on.” “Don’t mind me, i know i've done my fair share of bad things, but if my daughter believes in reconciliation, we should give it a try, wouldn’t you say?” Replied Chrysalis slyly. After watching them interact with a smile on her face, Necifera decided to speak up. “I’m glad to see you all interacting with one another, even if not in the most friendly way. I must admit, I didn't expect it to go as well as it is going when I planned this meeting.” “What you told me in my hive changed the way I look at things. I’m not sure if that dream of yours can succeed, but I'm willing to help. If we can finally roam Equestria freely, without needing to hide all the time, i think it’s worth a try. Besides, seeing two of my children leading their own hive, even if one of them was stolen...” Chrysalis gave a quick glance towards Thorax and grinned. “...brings me a good sense of pride.” “With you joining us, we can show Equestria what we have to offer and show them we are not the monsters they think we are. And with the help of Thorax and the reformed, we can have more chances to connect between the races,” Necifera pointed out. “But, there is one thing I want you to know. I wouldn’t be here today, I wouldn't have gotten this far and made such progress, without you. Both of you, and all of our subjects, worked to make this happen,” Necifera walked up to Chrysalis and bowed slightly. ”Thank you mother, for everything you taught me and everything you did for me.” Chrysalis nodded approvingly. “Mother knows best, I'll be here for you, always, and i’ll try to be better for your siblings from now on.” Then, Necifera walked up to Thorax and did the same. “Thank you, brother, for trusting me and helping me fulfill my dream.” “We are a family, we help one another when the need arises. I’m with you, whatever you plan on doing next, we will help,” Thorax replied, his voice filled with determination. Necifera smiled, and shed a small tear of joy. She considered herself the happiest changeling in Equestria. With Chrysalis and Thorax beside her, and their subjects behind them, Necifera looked to the horizon, towards Canterlot. She heard about the two alicorn sisters who ruled there, remembering one of them seemed to match the description of the mare she saw in her dream. Convincing them would be her greatest feat, but with everything she achieved up until now, it was a challenge she was all too happy to take.
Startling newsNecifera was chatting with some ponies in the main hall one early morning, when she felt something….unusual. It was as if a shockwave passed through her body, and she could have sworn she heard a distant explosion. “Is something wrong, my queen?” A pony she was talking to asked, confused at her sudden stiffness and change in expression. Necifera snapped out of the trance and blinked. “I’m...I’m fine, thank you for asking, dear. I need some time to think right now. I’ll be in my chambers if you need me.” The pony nodded and with that, Necifera made her way up the spire, towards the throne room. The queen wasn’t sure what she felt, and she had a bad feeling about it. The rest of the day was spent trying to figure out what might have happened, contacting her scouts and questioning if they felt the same. When some revealed they felt something similar, Necifera noticed only those who claimed to be from Chrysalis’s hive answered. She asked her scouts to check on her mother’s hive and see if anything happened. Necifera mostly kept to herself for a few days after the event, waiting for answers, and the feeling subsided slightly, but when unexpected and startling news came via the link from her scouts about her mother’s hive, she immediately understood what she felt. They told her that Queen Chrysalis was defeated, dethroned, which baffled her and made her doubt what she just heard. Her scouts further confirmed what happened by telling her the hive was shattered, it’s top half was gone, and her mother’s throne was nowhere to be found. That explosion she heard must have been related to it. As for the weird feeling she felt, it must have been a side effect she felt after her mother’s throne shattered or disappeared, it’s nullifying magic dissipating as a result. When she asked how something like this could ever happen, her scouts told the queen that they saw a new race of changelings, or what they assumed were changelings, around the destroyed hive. They had a variety of colors and lacked any holes in their body, and that perhaps it was their doing. Things got even more bizarre when her scouts noted that they couldn't take on such a form, as much as they tried, which puzzled Necifera even further. Sudendly, Nymph comes rushing into the throne room, interrupting her scouts’s reports. "My queen, have you heard? Mother and her hive…" Nymph said while panting lightly. "Yes, Nymph, my scouts told me what they saw, but I still don't know where these new changelings came from or how they accomplished such a task." "It seems everypony is talking about it, even our pony allies seemed to have gotten word of what happened,” Nymph began.“They say a traitor to Chrysalis, named Thorax, was the culprit, who worked together with ponies in order to bring Chrysalis down,” she paused briefly to catch her breath, before continuing. “Apparently, by sharing love with others instead of taking it, he and many other changelings evolved or reformed. I’m not exactly sure what happened either. The results are these colorful bugs now occupying our mother’s old hive, and it seems that with her throne gone, flora around the Badlands began growing again." "That is quite intriguing, I have never seen or heard of such things," Necifera pondered. “Are you sure those are changelings now inhabiting the hive? And what about Chrysalis? If she wasn’t with them, then surely they saw where she last went.” “I’m still not sure what they are. As for mother, they say she fled after being offered to join them and share her love. I’m not too surprised she refused, it wouldn't be like her to join those who beat her.” As she took it all in, it puzzled and fascinated Necifera at the same time, and she tried to make sense of it all. She made her way to one of the many windows of the throne room and looked in the direction of the Badlands. her scouts confirmed they received the orders, but before they could leave to do their task, the queen gave one more order. Necifera sighed deeply. She was glad Chrysalis was pushed away from where her hive was, but she was also worried about her mother. Did Chrysalis deserve this? She almost lost everything in just one day... *** Necifera waited for any kind of news for days after she learned what happened, her stress being at the highest it has ever been. When reports finally came confirming that Chrysalis had set up a second hive in Ghastly Gorge, surprisingly close to major pony territory, Necifera was relieved that her mother was doing ok, but was just as worried that she was still a threat and already had another hive ready. Still, in spite of that, Necifera turned her focus to her own hive, now considerably more calm, and began planning how to best contact the so called reformed changelings and their new king, Thorax, who now occupied her mother’s old hive. During the next two days, she gathered opinions from her subjects and asked them about the ordeal, getting mixed responses in return. Some of her subjects didn’t seem to mind or actively expressed their excitement to meet these new changelings, while others weren’t as excited or happy about it. As far as they knew, these new changelings weren’t a new unknown race, but instead were merely normal changelings that received a new form by sharing love with others. Necifera was positive that they would find solutions. Maybe getting a chitin rework wouldn't be so bad, and perhaps they could still change to their old form despite reforming. With those observations, most of her subjects’s opinions changed, mostly towards the positive. Pleased with the shift in agreement, Necifera decided she would take one changeling of each race in her hive, as well as one pony chosen by their allies to accompany her. This would allow her to show the reformed how much diversity and teamwork existed among the different races in her hive. Reassuring those uncertain with the plan that everything was going to be fine, the queen made her way to what once was her mother's hive, her chosen group of 5 in tow.
The reformedAfter walking for some time, passing by different trees, lotuses and other flowers, and even a grove with a waterfall of sorts, relatively close to their hive, Necifera and her group reached the end of the swamps and arrived at the edge of the Badlands. It was noticeably greener, plants were growing in the area, and in the distance, the hive’s silhouette could be seen, also with flora growing on and around the now smaller structure. Necifera sighed upon spotting it, remembering the last time she was in it, but was slightly more relieved to know her mother was nowhere near them now. As they approached it, she noticed just how open it was, given the top half no longer being there. Seeing what she assumed were the reformed changelings from afar reminded her of her own hive, strangely enough. She smiled at the thought. Once her group was within sight of these changelings, Necifera noticed there seemed to be no guards whatsoever, which surprised her considering what happened a few days ago back in this same location. She announced her presence once her group began catching the eye of the reformed closer to them. Speaking loudly, but not in an aggressive tone, she explained why she came here to all that could hear her. As with the ponies the first time they saw her, some seemed scared and backed away from her, some hid, and others stood their ground, albeit in a more aggressive way, understandable given Necifera’s appearance. After hearing what the queen had to say however, and seeing how her group was not posing an immediate threat, the reformed seemed to calm down and the atmosphere became less tense. Necifera waited outside, waiting for any confirmation to enter as she watched many reformed enter the hive themselves. Moments later, a different, bigger reformed changeling approached, along with another, with much darker colors. The queen assumed the bigger one was Thorax, and bowed out of respect, before greeting him. As she did this however, the reformed changeling accompanying Thorax hissed loudly at her, which made her instinctively back up. “Pharynx! That is no way to treat newcomers. I’m sorry for my brother’s behavior,” Thorax said, apologetic. “Look at her Thorax! She looks just like Chrysalis! And she brought more of these unreformed. How can we trust her?” Pharynx hissed back while keeping his aggressive stance. “They also have a pony who doesn’t seem scared at all. Give them a chance to explain themselves, will you?” Pharynx hissed disapprovingly but backed off slightly. Necifera gave a nervous chuckle before speaking. “There is no need to chastise him. His reaction is understandable given my appearance and my group. I can assure you however that we mean no harm. I had a rough start in my early days when I started my hive, but each of my subjects behind me are representing their respective species in it currently,” Necifera said calmly while gesturing to her group.“We are thriving together, and we put aside our differences to help each other.” “I can confirm that as the only non-changeling here,” The pony accompanying the queen said while moving forward and placing their left fore hoof on their chest. ”She was honest with us when she first revealed herself, and she admitted that her hive was feeding off of our village, but none of us were harmed. She didn’t show aggression and said she merely wished to live in harmony with us. She kept her word and that is how our alliance came to be.” “How do we know you're not being controlled by her?” Pharynx snapped back. Thorax sighed. ”Pharynx, brother, Chrysalis is gone now, you can relax. They seem to be telling the truth.” “I will protect the hive against any threat, and this unreformed self proclaimed queen who appeared out of nowhere is a threat to me!” “I think it’s best if I say it now. I am also Chrysalis’s daughter, just like you and many others here,” Necifera revealed, receiving a loud hiss from Pharynx in response. She ignored him and continued. “I was born an alpha and taught how to rule as a queen, but I fled the hive, this same hive, when it was hers. I didn’t want to risk becoming like her and I felt I had no other choice.” “I knew we shouldn't trust you!” Pharynx shouted, his reaction causing even more reformed to gather in a circle that slowly formed around the talking changelings. “Maybe we should all calm down a little. Pharynx, I know it’s hard to get used to new habits, but we need to be more trusting and open now. And she isn’t wrong, Chrysalis was our mother as well...” Thorax reminded his brother. Then, addressing Necifera, he continued. ”You said you had a hive, right? I would love to hear about it and your experiences, as well as your story.” *** Inside the hive, Necifera told her story and described her experiences after she fled. As she did, more and more reformed seemed to lose their fear of her and her group, understanding and acknowledging the struggle she went through in making her choices and building her hive. Thorax, after hearing the queen’s story, agreed to the idea of becoming allies after she suggested it, aided by what the pony accompanying Necifera said, much to the annoyance of Pharynx. Pleased with Thorax's decision, but curious to know more, Necifera asked his opinion on Chrysalis, and told him her own plan to convince their mother to change. Thorax admitted he didn't believe Chrysalis could be redeemed, reminding Necifera what happened when they offered her such a choice upon reforming. The queen became slightly discouraged by hearing this at first, wondering if her plan would ever work, but she quickly brightened up, telling Thorax that they didn't need to make Chrysalis reform, they just needed to convince her to stop being a threat to ponies and hurting them. Thorax liked the idea and reassured Necifera that the reformed changelings would help Necifera in her quest. It was a surprise to him after all, seeing an unreformed changeling, and a queen no less, not to mention all the different races accompanying her. To see such different species working together and helping each other in one hive was impressive to him. Both the reformed changelings and the ones the queen brought seemed to take great interest in each other as well, and were interacting with one another throughout their stay in Thorax’s hive. Seeing such friendship quickly spreading was enough to persuade Thorax to help in this nigh impossible quest to redeem Chrysalis. “See, Pharynx. Trusting others isn't so bad,” said Thorax with a witty voice, leaning in with his surprisingly long neck towards his brother. “Bah, you will see, she will betray us the moment she finds an opportunity!” Snapped Pharynx, although his voice seemed to carry hollow words, as if he didn’t really mean what he said. “You will see, Pharynx, be patient.” “Whatever,” Pharynx huffed and moved away from them. Necifera grinned slightly. “Very hard to convince, I see.” “Yeah, but don’t mind him, he just wants to make sure the hive is safe,” replied Thorax, embarrassed. “I admire his temper, and I respect his loyalty to the hive.” “With time he will learn and adapt,” Thorax said with a smile. Necifera nodded in agreement. “I have some questions about the reformed changelings. How does the process work and how different are you from us unreformed? I have never seen or heard about such a transformation before.” “Well, I wasn't aware it existed either. I just shared love instead of taking it for the first time and it happened. As for noticeable changes, well, physically we are very different from one another now. And I no longer feel that hunger, it’s as if I am constantly being emotionally fed by others around me, and I'm sharing my emotions passively as well. Are you planning to reform as well? It’s not a necessity, but would make non-changelings more friendly towards you.” “I’m not sure. I don’t know if all my subjects would like the change, but it’s their choice. Just like with your reformed changelings, any of my subjects that wish to reform will be welcome in the hive. And if I am to reform, I will do so in my hive. I want to show my subjects that it’s their choice whether or not they want to change.” “I must admit I am curious to know how the different changeling races in your hive would look like reformed. Still, as long as none of you are causing trouble, we will get along just fine, reformed or not.” “I have another question. Can a reformed changeling use their old form?” “Oh yes, absolutely,” in a pillar of light green, Thorax emerged in his unreformed, smaller form, although his wings appeared to be sparkly and seemed to glow. “It’s as easy as any other basic transformation, maybe even easier.” “Good, that will make many in the hive happy. I really hope we can remain allies, or better yet, brothers and sisters, regardless of appearance.” Thorax returned to his reformed form in another pillar of light. “I hope so too, and together we can show Equestria that all changelings aren’t the scary and heartless monsters many believe they are.” “That is my goal, or should I say, our goal?” Necifera smirked. “I’m positive things will get better from now on. I shall return to my hive to process this new information. Maybe next time we meet I'll have a brand new look.” “It seems you are already starting, look at your wings!” Thorax pointed towards Necifera with a fore hoof, excited. Slightly alarmed, Necifera quickly brought one of her wings into view, and noticed how it seemed to glow and looked sparkly just like his wings did. “What does this mean?” “Don’t be scared, it’s a sign you're halfway there. Your good actions are beginning to affect you physically. The same happened to me before I reformed,” that made Necifera smile. They watched the reformed and unreformed changelings interacting with one another and enjoying each other’s company for a while before Necifera and her group departed close to dusk. They bid farewell to the reformed and made their way back to their hive. As Thorax watched the queen’s group leave, Pharynx approached him. “Guess they aren’t as bad as I thought…” He grumbled. Thorax smiled and giggled. ”See? I knew you would grow to like them.” Pharynx hissed back. “Don’t mention it.” *** As Necifera made her way through the swamps with her group, who were still talking among each other and expressing how much fun they had interacting with the reformed, she pondered on what Thorax said. Would she be ready and willing to change? She looked at her glowing wings and smiled. If Thorax is right, then maybe it would benefit her hive if she did. But what would her mother think of her if she saw her in the same form of a traitor? The meeting with the changeling king unveiled more than what she expected and she definitely needed some time to process it all. The queen focused on getting back to her hive safely and telling the news to her subjects for now. Once Necifera reached her hive, exhausted, those in her group disbanded and embraced their brothers and sisters without a second to waste, and her subjects were happy to see all in her group were safe. Necifera, too tired to speak, sent all the news via the hive link. Everything from the alliance that was successfully formed, to everything the queen learned about the reformed was sent to every subject in her hive. They were all relieved to hear the good news, and with this new information known to all, the queen assured her subjects that any changeling willing to reform can do so without fear. They would still be welcome in the hive no matter their appearance, and she would not force any to change, nor would she tolerate any kind of violence among the reformed and unreformed. After she finished giving her telepathic announcement, Necifera made her way to her chambers, and promptly collapsed on her bed, exhausted. She quickly drifted off to sleep.
To change a changeling queenThe next day, Necifera woke up to quite some commotion in the link, as well as some new, yet familiar sensations. She made her way to the main hall to investigate, and was met with reformed changelings. But these were not from Thorax’s hive, they were all part of her hive as confirmed by their familiar presence in the link. She was surprised at how fast many made the change, but was glad all her changelings seemed to welcome the new old faces. Many of the different races reformed, and seemed to gain a number of features, from fur covering their body, to different chitin and scale colors. She spent the day interacting with her subjects as usual, but took the opportunity to learn more about the reformed, asking questions like what the process felt like. Her reformed subjects explained that their transformation process was fast and pleasant and that they didn’t feel too different, other than their new physical appearance. They also noted they didn't feel hungry at all, and felt themselves sharing emotions with those around them. Necifera could feel these emotions too, passively coming from her reformed subjects. An interesting effect, she noted. This would further help eliminate any problems with hunger they may have. Necifera spent the day in the hive, and, after chatting with her subjects about Thorax and his reformed, as well as a number of other topics, night time quickly arrived. The queen felt like she was ready to change, after all the input she received, she deemed it would only benefit her hive. As if on queue, her wings began glowing brightly. She gathered some of her pony subjects in the main hall and, for the first time ever, shared her love and sustenance, and what was to an extent her life force, with her pony allies. Almost instantly, she felt the change. She was enveloped by a purple cocoon of light as she closed her eyes, and moments later emerged with a brand new appearance. In this new colorful form, any holes changelings typically had on their body disappeared, and Necifera now had a light tan color replacing the dark that covered most of her body. Her mane and tail also changed drastically, the red color covering them changed to better fit the lotus flowers her hive was based off, now starting with an orchid purple from the base of each and branching into light pink near the end. Her eyes kept their red glow but became softer and lighter. Her wings, now noticeably split into 4, also followed a similar change, starting with pale purple from the base and branching into a pale transparent pink. They were also rounder and less jagged in design. Her carapace kept a dark color, now a dark violet, with her midsection having a transparent bright lavender membrane. Another very noticeable change was a concentration of fluffy fur on the queen’s chest, where her necklace used to be, now buried under its bright brown fur. It was quite comfortable and warm to the touch. As Necifera opened her eyes, she inspected her new form with great interest, touching the comfortable fur on her chest with a fore hoof and looking at her wings. It took her some time to get used to the different effects it carried. She felt even stronger than before and well-sated, although strangely enough, she still craved some specific emotions, like compassion and kindness. She ignored that thought and focused on her new form’s other features. Once she was satisfied and comfortable with it, she tried returning to her old form, and with some attempts, she was able to swap between them with ease, but noticed she kept both her holes and her sparkly wings in her unreformed form. After playing around with her forms for a while, Necifera noticed how most of her subjects were stunned by the way she looked now. She smiled back at them and assured them all that things would only get better from here. Still slightly conflicted with the new sensations she was feeling, the queen excused herself and made her way up the spire, passing by one of her subjects that was frozen in amazement with their jaw agape. She giggled and closed it with a fore hoof, giving them a gentle kiss on the cheek. Practically stone, her subject blushed profusely while Necifera continued to grin and retired to her chambers for the day. Laying down in her bed, the queen quickly drifted off into the world of dreams as is usual every night. However, something strange occurred this particular night.
Change of heartNecifera woke up the next morning after having a weird dream, the first she’d ever had. She couldn’t remember much, but she definitely remembered seeing what appeared to be a pony with dark blue fur, a horn and a pair of wings, and a mane, flowing unnaturally, made up of countless stars in a blue soothing sky, watching her. It, no, she, seemed to be focused on Necifera specifically in her dream, but how could that be possible? Necifera knew this mare wasn’t just part of her dream, or was she... Although it puzzled her greatly, Necifera decided to ignore that strange dream and focus on it later, focusing instead on her plan she was setting in motion soon. To confront her mother once and for all. It didn’t take long for Necifera to locate the exact area where her mother’s new hive was. After her changelings infiltrated and gathered information on it, she began planning how to approach this situation. She couldn’t afford to fail, she only had one chance. Since some of her changelings were already among Chrysalis’s subjects, it would make things easier. She organized a group and with it, they were going to infiltrate and join up with her other subjects already disguised in the hive. She picked spiderlings and nagas as well as strong drones to accompany her in this dangerous mission. “My queen, sister, can I come with you? I can help if things go wrong,” Nymph asked as Necifera prepared to depart. “Nymph, I understand what you want, you are strong, and that is why I need you to stay here. I trust you will do great as a leader in case I don't return.” Necifera bent down to look Nymph in the eyes. “Be strong, for me and for the hive, my alpha.” “Please be safe,” pleaded Nymph. “I will. Make sure the spirits in the hive are high for when we return,” Necifera replied with a smile. “We’ll be back in no time.” After saying their farewells to their fellow changelings, Necifera's group made their way to Chrysalis's hive. *** When they arrived, they all quickly disguised themselves as simple drones. Necifera noticed however, that she still had her sparkly wings, despite not being in her own unreformed body. This would make things slightly complicated. The queen tried her best to hide her wings as her group reached the hive. They blended in with the rest of the changelings easily, entering the hive along another group, luckily without the guards noticing them. This wasn’t her mother’s old hive, but Necifera’s group quickly met up with her own spies with the help of their link, who went unnoticed by the other changelings. They all met up in a dark corner, devoid of activity, and her spies gave her all the information needed about the hive’s layout. With their new knowledge of the hive, the queen’s group easily found their way to the throne room, quickly hypnotizing and wiping the memories of any suspicious changelings they came across in the tunnels. The throne guards, very suspicious at a big group approaching without Chrysalis notifying them, readied themselves to confront these intruders. “What is the purpose of this? The queen did not request any meetings of any kind at this time,” one of the throne guards hissed. Necifera approached the guard and locked eyes with them, her crimson gaze trapping them in her hypnotic power. “Relax. Our queen called for us at the last moment. You must be feeling really tired after standing here all day. You can rest for a while now,” And with soft and soothing words, the guard was fast asleep on the ground. With quick thinking following their queen’s action, the changelings in her group immobilized the other guard and allowed her to do the same to them as well. Once both guards were out of the way, Necifera prepared herself, and sighed loudly, before throwing open the doors to the throne room with her magic. Queen Chrysalis was sitting on her throne, a bored expression on her face, while she held her head with one of her fore hooves. Seeing the doors opening violently surprised her and made her flinch slightly. “What is the meaning of this interruption?” She shouted, annoyance in her voice. “It’s been quite some time hasn’t it, mother?” Necifera asked, her lack of emotion present in her question, while she fixed her gaze on Chrysalis. Chrysalis cocked her head to the side, visibly confused. “Do I know you?” Then she locked eyes with the small drone, and as she saw that familiar red glow, her eyes widened at the realisation. “You!” She snarled as she rose to her full height. “Traitor! How dare you come here after your betrayal?” Chrysalis’s fangs were fully visible as she snapped back. Hearing the commotion, some of Chrysalis’s drones gathered at the entrance to the throne room surprisingly fast. “Don’t just stand there, get them!” Chrysalis shouted. The gathered drones almost stumbled over each other as they rushed towards the queen’s group, but Necifera’s subjects, shedding their disguises, stopped each of them with ease, keeping them immobilized and harmless. Necifera didn’t flinch at all during this, and merely kept her eyes fixed on Chrysalis. “Traitor…” Necifera repeated slowly. “You like saying that a lot. Are you sure you know what that word means, mother?” “What are you talking about? An-And how are you commanding so many changelings of other races?” Chrysalis hissed back, caught off guard, but then she noticed the sparkling wings on Necifera’s disguise. “Wait, those wings…” Chrysalis narrowed her eyes as her horn lit up, and in a blink of an eye, a green beam of magic struck Necifera. It didn’t hurt however, instead, Necifera’s disguise was shed by her mother’s magic, revealing her true, reformed self. “Ah! Look at you! You fled the hive, you abandoned your siblings and now you join the other trait-” “You imply I betrayed our race?” Necifera sharply interrupted. “Look around me, see how many changeling races are working together under my rule. Does it surprise you? Have you never led any from the other hives before? I didn’t betray our race, I'm trying to unify them and make a better future for us. How they look doesn’t matter! We are all changelings in the end, trying to survive. I betrayed you, because you don’t know how to treat your own children!” “How dare you say that! I teach them to fight for and serve the hive! I taught you how to rule!” Chrysalis proclaimed, pointing at Necifera with a hoof. “Defective drones flee because they are weak!” “There are no defective drones. Some are weaker than others, yes, but the reason they flee and betray you as you like to say is not because of that. They flee because they're scared of you. Have you ever asked one of your subjects if they're happy with how you treat them?” “What kind of question is that? Of course they are happy, otherwise they would tell me...” Chrysalis said, her voice trailing off. “You don’t sound so confident with that statement,” Necifera pointed out, hoping her vocal battle with her mother could get her point across. “They fear you, why would they admit to something they know you will hate hearing?” “You're lying, I won't lose my hive again!” Chrysalis stomped the ground with her hooves, causing it to crack, and launched a magic projectile from her horn, aiming for the closest of Necifera’s subjects. “Enough!” Necifera shouted and leapt in front of her subject, creating a reflective shield that sent the projectile back to where it came from, making Chrysalis freeze and go wide eyed before it hit her dead center. Once Necifera recovered from the knockback and the smoke settled, she saw Chrysalis laying against her cracked throne, panting heavily and having a few new scratches on her body. “That power….how did you…” Chrysalis asked slowly and with some difficulty. “Is that all you care about? Power?” Necifera coldly asked as she approached her mother. “This power was given to me by my subjects, out of love, trust, and friendship. You don’t have those things, that is why you are weak now. I don’t want to take over your hive, I have my own. Why can’t you just listen to what others have to say?” Necifera stomped the ground with one hoof close to Chrysalis as she finished asking her question. Chrysalis went silent for a while. “Fear…” She whispered. ”Is that why my children flee? Is that why they turn agaisn’t me?” She looked up at Necifera. “...Is that why you fled?” Necifera’s anger faded slightly. “I fled because of fear, but a different one. I saw what was happening in the hive as I grew, and I didn't want to risk becoming cold like you.” Necifera bent down to better speak with Chrysalis. “Mother...i survived out there and i got to where i am now thanks to you.” “W-What do you mean?” Chrysalis asked, stuttering. “Your lessons allowed me to push through obstacles. They taught me how to be the queen I am now. I will be eternally grateful for that. Please mother, I don't want to hurt you anymore, I don't want to lose you...” Necifera changed into her unreformed form. “...Let us be a family again, ALL of us, regardless of what we look like. You don’t have to change, none of your subjects need to, and you don’t need to forgive those who wronged you, but let us stop the fighting, please.” Necifera pleaded, tears beginning to stream down her face. After a few more seconds of silence that felt like hours, Necifera’s tears being the only sound that broke the silence hitting the ground, Chrysalis smiled and finally spoke, while shakily getting back up. Necifera did the same. “My daughter, I was wrong about you, you weren’t a disappointment after all.” Chrysalis tenderly ran her hoof down Necifera’s cheek, and locked her green eyes with her daughter’s red. “I’m proud of you, at how far you got and what you accomplished, I hope you know that, my daughter,” she dried the tears streaming down Necifera’s face with the same hoof, and sighed. “We will try to avoid fighting with the reformed from now on, but they aren’t welcome in my hive...” “Mother-” Necifera started. “...Until I have some choice words with Thorax first,” Chrysalis elaborated, smiling. Necifera sighed and whispered. “Small steps…” Then, both queens looked at their subjects, Chrysalis’s drones still being restrained by Necifera’s. They looked back at one another, grinned and embraced each other, a hug that lasted for a long time. They would have a lot to do these next few days. “That love you’re sharing is very irresistible, you know that?” Chrysalis noted while hugging her daughter. “There is more for all of us once everything is settled,” stated Necifera, not wanting to leave her mother’s embrace. *** Necifera sent the good news to both her hive via the link and Thorax through her scouts, and they all agreed to meet up in the king’s hive. Chrysalis promised she wouldn’t cause any trouble, and that she also wanted to see how her old hive looked like after all this time. Surprisingly enough, despite a rough greeting, Chrysalis and Thorax didn’t immediately try to kill each other once they met after so long. Maybe it was because Necifera was keeping a watchful eye, or maybe her words were more effective than she expected, but she wasn’t too sure herself. She was just glad to see some bonds begin to form, even if small. “I must say, I never expected to meet on...friendlier terms after our last encounter,” admitted Thorax, still slightly nervous with Chrysalis so close. “Don’t get your hopes up, you stole my hive, I haven't forgotten that,” Chrysalis said before getting closer to Thorax and giving a creepy, toothy smile. “Perhaps you’ll pay for that in time.” This made Thorax audibly gulp. Chrysalis chuckled and backed off to give him some space. “I heard that, don’t do something you will regret!” Hissed Pharynx as he quickly approached the group. “Ah, Pharynx, I still recognize that short temper in your voice even after all this time,” Chrysalis complemented, shrugging off his warning. “Even after getting a new form that doesn’t really fit your personality, you still prove to be quite fierce. I'm proud of you.” “Don’t try to persuade me with your words,” Pharynx hissed back. “I’m just complimenting you,” Chrysalis smiled, as if mocking Pharynx. “As much as I hate to admit it, your brother is doing a good job running my old hive.” “Really? I..Uh.. I mean, thank you, mother,” Thorax replied, flustered. As Necifera watched them interact with each other, she noticed a changeling with what appeared to be a bite mark on their hind hoof approach Thorax. “Rogue…” She whispered to herself. “Hey Thorax,” the changeling said hesitantly. “I don’t know if you remember me, it’s been awhile since we met up in the mountains of the Crystal Empire. I wish i could have spent more time with you, as at the time you were the closest thing to family to me,” they explain. “Rogue? Is that really you? After all this time, i never would have imagined we would meet again. Where did you run off to?” “I was afraid, with Chrysalis after me i couldn’t let her find you,” Rogue looked towards Chrysalis and hissed at her, causing her to back up slightly, but the old queen still kept a fanged smile on her face as she watched both of them. “And i didn’t want to risk losing someone who treated me so nicely. You look amazing by the way, what happened to us while we were apart?” Rogue asked. “Don’t worry Rogue, i appreciate you wanting to protect me, but we can relax now, the time for fighting is over. With time we can get used to her presence,” he said while looking towards Chrysalis. ”We will be able to enjoy many moments together from now on.” “Don’t mind me, i know i've done my fair share of bad things, but if my daughter believes in reconciliation, we should give it a try, wouldn’t you say?” Replied Chrysalis slyly. After watching them interact with a smile on her face, Necifera decided to speak up. “I’m glad to see you all interacting with one another, even if not in the most friendly way. I must admit, I didn't expect it to go as well as it is going when I planned this meeting.” “What you told me in my hive changed the way I look at things. I’m not sure if that dream of yours can succeed, but I'm willing to help. If we can finally roam Equestria freely, without needing to hide all the time, i think it’s worth a try. Besides, seeing two of my children leading their own hive, even if one of them was stolen...” Chrysalis gave a quick glance towards Thorax and grinned. “...brings me a good sense of pride.” “With you joining us, we can show Equestria what we have to offer and show them we are not the monsters they think we are. And with the help of Thorax and the reformed, we can have more chances to connect between the races,” Necifera pointed out. “But, there is one thing I want you to know. I wouldn’t be here today, I wouldn't have gotten this far and made such progress, without you. Both of you, and all of our subjects, worked to make this happen,” Necifera walked up to Chrysalis and bowed slightly. ”Thank you mother, for everything you taught me and everything you did for me.” Chrysalis nodded approvingly. “Mother knows best, I'll be here for you, always, and i’ll try to be better for your siblings from now on.” Then, Necifera walked up to Thorax and did the same. “Thank you, brother, for trusting me and helping me fulfill my dream.” “We are a family, we help one another when the need arises. I’m with you, whatever you plan on doing next, we will help,” Thorax replied, his voice filled with determination. Necifera smiled, and shed a small tear of joy. She considered herself the happiest changeling in Equestria. With Chrysalis and Thorax beside her, and their subjects behind them, Necifera looked to the horizon, towards Canterlot. She heard about the two alicorn sisters who ruled there, remembering one of them seemed to match the description of the mare she saw in her dream. Convincing them would be her greatest feat, but with everything she achieved up until now, it was a challenge she was all too happy to take.
